Sweet Dreams to My Sweet Baby Girl

I love pictures of sleeping babies--especially when that baby is mine! She sleeps with her bear.
I actually started encouraging her using it as a lovey as recommended in the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It's overall a decent book.

WOW! She has a website: http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/ The girl on the website is holding the same pink Cheerbear as Claire. That's ironic! I used some of the tips in the NCSS. However, I found that I was already doing A LOT of them. One of her tips was that if the baby wakes up after only 30-45 minutes of sleeping, that it was just between sleep cycles and not ready to wake up yet, or something to that effect. Well duh. So it was also an explanation of how infants sleep and WHY they need to wake up and and and...blah blah blah...read the book yourself if you want to know more. That's all you get for today. I feel like going to watch a show now, so bye ;)

Welcome to the World of Junk Food!

Claire enjoyed her first Reese Cup! She ate the whole thing. Yummy!

Of course she still had to break it up and play with it, too! It's part of the experience!

See, we do feed our baby. I promise I really do. :)

A Chat with Pooh!

"HEY EVERYBODY! I THOUGHT YOU COULD GET A LOOK AT THE BACK OF MY THROAT! CHECK IT OUT!"
"Oh my goodness! The phone is ringing! It's Winnie-The-Pooh's ringtone! I can't wait to talk to my favorite Chubbily Cubbily! :)"

"Hmm. I think I have time to talk to Pooh. It's only a hair past a freckle!"

"Hello, You have reached Little Claire. Sitting in a Little Chair. With Barely any Hair!"

"Sweet! He sent me a new picture! He's so cool! He's my best friend because BEAR rhymes with Claire!"

Cute outfit! Thanks Oma! :) Do I really talk on the phone enough to have her imitating me already? LOL! Josh goes, "Um, probably!"

Happy Halloween!

Ok. So one of our neighbors has way too much time on their hands. Way too much.

I wonder what they are going to do for X-mas this year!!! I only took pictures of this one other house, but it seems like more and more people are decorating for Halloween every year.

So yesterday I took Claire to the pediatrician in her CareBear outfit. I was glad since there was also a bunny, a chicken, a duck, and a pumpkin waiting. She would have been the only kiddo sans costume!!! And the whole office staff, doctors, and nurses, were dressed up. Apparently they put more time and effort in coordinating Halloween themes than reading up on extended breastfeeding, etc... Last year the office did Wizard of Oz. They were all the different characters. This year the theme was a "sleepover" so they were all wearing funky jammies and slippers and robes...so that's why I go back there. It's generally a pretty fun and friendly place. But I still want to switch doctors...anyway...yesterday was SOOO NICE OUT!

We hung up some fun pumpkin lights about a month ago. They look really spiffy at night.

Claire with Daddy on her car. She can't really scoot with her feet yet, but she loves it when we push her!

There she goes! She can run really fast now. She can be halfway down the street before we know it!

I was trying to get her to stay in the driveway but she wanted to go on a walk!

I love Kellymom

I love this site: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html More stuff on solids. I know, lots of linky linkies to clicky clicky on.

And cow's milk is obviously, um, for cows...but here is some interesting data on baby food calories, etc http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/babyfoodcalories.html and http://kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milkcalories.html

Now I just need to find the breastfed babies charts and plot her growth on those!

Always Question The Doctor's Advice

Thanks to everyone for commenting ;) We all know that doctor is a dumb-mass...

Oh. And the doctor told me some people make cream for breastmilk and some people make skim milk. Um. Right...

I found what I was looking for. Basically I was wondering if nursing would decrease her appetite for solids. Well according to this, it doesn't: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html So that's good info to know!

And I think I like this article too: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/toddler-foods.html ... note this from that site:

Some toddlers are eating very few solids, or even no solids, at 12 months. This
is not unusual and really depends on your child - there is quite a big
variation. We like to see breastmilk making up the majority (around 75%) of
baby's diet at 12 months. Some babies will be taking more solids by 12
months,
but others will still be exclusively or almost-exclusively breastfed
at this
point. It is normal for baby to keep breastmilk as the primary part
of his diet
up until 18 months or even longer. An example of a nice gradual
increase in
solids would be 25% solids at 12 months, 50% solids at 18
months, and 80% solids
at 24 months.

Failure to Thrive

So today we went to Claire's 15 month check-up. Apparently she isn't gaining weight well. She was labeled as Mild Failure to Thrive. WHAT? How can this be right. By 4 months she was 19.6 lbs and 26 1/4 inches tall. Then at 9 months she was 30 1/4 inches tall, head was 18 inches, and she was 23.10 lbs. Then at 12 months she was 31 1/2 inches tall (97th percentile), head was 18 1/2 inches (92nd percentile), and she was 23.15 lbs. (90th percentile). Now at this appt. she was 33 inches tall (97th percentile), head was 18 3/4 (still at 92nd percentile), and she weighed 23.8 lbs. which is at the 60th percentile. She weighs a few ounces less now than at 9 months, and not surprising the same clothes for the most part. ;)

So she's basically too busy to eat in my opinion. She would rather smash, throw, smush, smear, and whatever else you can possibly do with food than eat it. She'll taste it, but spit it back out for the most part. She likes to feed Josh, me, or anyone else who's near. She fed some random old lady when we visited Timbercrest and walked by and said HI while we were eating. She fed her Cheerios to Oma during Deanna and James's wedding. Oma really didn't want them, but Claire insisted, and it kept her quiet. Claire, not Oma. Oma knows how to be quiet. :)

So my doctor told me to start giving her whole cow's milk. I think that would be great if 1. she were a baby cow or 2. she would actually do more with a sippy cup than break them. Doctor also told me to give her Pediasure to help with weight gain. I don't think the idea is to fatten her up, but even her out? Maybe I should put a brick on her head during the day as my dad used to say to stunt her growth. Then her weight would be fine. :)

Failure to thrive, even if Mild, seems like a harsh diagnosis to someone who has always been in the 90s for percentiles or over. I was reading about it all afternoon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure_to_thrive usually it's diagnosed in the first year, not after. BUT apparently if they drop more than 2 % in the weight category, they fall into the failure to thrive. I was discussing this on some Cafe Mom boards and everyone said kids will eat what they'll eat. Several of them have tried to fatten up their kids, but it didn't work anyway.

I also hesitate to start her on milk as I was allergic to milk while I was young and really wanted to wait longer. She's been fine on other dairy items. like yogurt and cottage cheese, but I think straight cow milk is different.

I was also reading a bunch of other stuff and I think she is a very very slow eater and a very very picky eater. I always start her eating before us and she eats until everything is all cleaned up and put away! She also wasn't eating solids until right about a year old. Also, someone on CM (Cafe Mom) pointed out that if she didn't start taking solids until 12 months, she's really eating solids like an 8 month old would.

Also, like WIKI said, it's not really "failing" to thrive, it's more of a slow weight gain. When I think of Failure to Thrive, I think of some isolated baby in an Orphanage in Russia (or someplace remote) who is only held to be taken to changed and only propped with a bottle. :( YIKES.

Needless to say, we fed Claire a lot of food today. And then some candy... she ate a mini-kitkat, and a mini-Reese-cup, and a sucker. I hope she doesn't get sick, but man, did she love it ;) Her first taste of REAL people candy!

So tell me I'm not a horrible mother? Thanks. ;)

Breastfed Babies are Better Behaved

Interesting blog post: http://blog.thenatureschild.com/2008/10/breastfed-babies-are-better-behaved.html Another reason...as if one is needed...

Then and Now

Last year, October 2007, Oma got Claire a fall-themed Winnie-the-Pooh outfit:
Uncle Aaron sent a little Mermaid costume complete with a seashell bikini top:

Last year at Halloween, Claire couldn't even sit up! We propped her in this with pillows:

She had several cute Halloween costume options, like this cute Colts cheerleader outfit from Aunt Amanda and Uncle Alex:

Tante Holly made a little dress and hat with pumpkins on them:

And Veronika and Isi sent a Kimono from their trip abroad:

And Uncle Richie got Claire a Jail Baby outfit:

And I found this Halloween shirt that says "Witch and Famous" at a yard sale for .25 cents. SCORE! The lighting is off in this, but you get the idea!

Let's Play!

Please let me know why this banana says "Let's Play!" Do they want kids to play with their food...or...?

James and Deanna's Wedding

Claire absolutely loved the pasta they had at the wedding. The food was awesome because it was in an awesome restaurant!


My cousin Mark, my Uncle Victor, and my Aunt Lynn. We all sat at the same table together.

Claire is trying to give her cousin Abby her spoon. Yay for sharing! :)

My mom, Arlene, and my dad, Will at the wedding.

I think they were trying to give each other a kiss here. Or just smell each other?

My cousin Sharon, her husband Bob, and their daughter, Abby who is 20 months.

Deanna and James Hawlish getting their yummy food.

Cousins Abby and Colin (2 1/2) give each other a hug while Claire looks on.

My other favorite baby carrier: The OVER THE SHOULDER BABY HOLDER. I like this one as it's a portable hammock and she can nurse and sleep in this one.

Sharon, Abby, and one of James's brothers. They wore top hats and had canes. FUN!

Sharon and Abby! Abby's dress was so pretty! She was the flower girl!

James, Deanna, and their son, Colin, getting ready to come in.

The wedding cake was also very yummy! It looked like lace layered over green icing. Make it full size by clicking on it to see the cake topper. It's funny! :)

This is the 5th wedding Claire has been to since she's been born! WOOT!

Deadly Halloween Candy

Watch this YouTube video about unsafe candies:



When in doubt, THROW IT OUT!

Betty Wagner--LLL founder died

And another one bites the dust. :( http://www.llli.org/betty.html Betty Wagner passed away this past Sunday. Her legacy will live on. I'm just bummed I'll never meet her on this earth. She was one of the original founders of LLL. I'll always remember a local leader, Lisa, pointing out that the Chicago conference (that was held the weekend Claire was born) was probably going to be the last time all of the founding mothers were together. And sadly, she was right. :( I can't believe 2 of the 7 are dead, just since Claire was born.

15 month milestones

Did you know October is attachment parenting month? Well it is, so before it's over, here's a link to a cool AP site: http://www.attachmentparenting.org/ YAY! Happy attachmenting!

I found this pretty decent list http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/articledetail.cfm?id=323 I was checking for 15 month milestones. Wow. She is 1 and 1/4 already! Seems like she's on track for everything. Yay! It's amazing to think back to last year at this time! And I know next year at this time she'll be talking up a storm because she already is! I also learned at the Breastfeeding/Parenting conference that it is normal for kids to first start saying a word by only say the first or last constant of it. So I'm thinking she's probably saying more than I'll list here, but these are words I can pick out as she says them regularly.

Words she can say:

1. Hi-Hi
2. Bye-Bye, Buh-Bye
3. ni-ni
4. up-up
5. Go
6. Ca! (Car)
7. Bow (we use clear tape hehe)
8. Baby/Boy/Girl--uses these for babies/kids indiscriminately but at least everyone is not BABY anymore
9. Mama for adult females
   Mommy for me! :) She is saying this more than Mama or Mom :)
10. Dada for all adult males
11. Daddy for Josh or Dad
12. Baby Claire! She will say this when we watch her videos or look in the mirror! She thinks baby is part of her name ;)
13. Ou! (out of highchair, carseat, etc)
14. Alk! (walk, while pushing on stroller)
15. Baby Girl (for her dolly)
16. Mwah! (Kissy noise while giving kiss!)
17. Dtop! (drop)
18. Row! (for throw, a favorite thing to do to food while in highchair)
19. duck
20. turtle
21. giggle
22. gaggle (although she has no idea what a gaggle of geese are, I'm sure. we're trying to teach her google now ;) teehee)
23. book
24. Mah! (More!)
25. Bobbi (for her Baby Carebear...when she first was trying to say Baby for anything with eyes and it has stuck)
26. Di-di for diaper
27. Ba! (for ball and balloons...loves to point at Balloons at the store when we go the floral dept!)
28. Mo! (For her elMO toy)
29. Nummies for nursing/wanting to nurse or (i-wan-nummas...I swear it sounds like a complete sentence!)
30. Nom-nom, num-num for food

Animal sounds:

1. moo
2. baa
3. quack
4. pants like a dog
5. sniffs like bunny
6. snorts like pig (more guttural)
7. hoots like a monkey

We are working on other animal sounds. Like Clucking for chickens, but she keeps quacking...and fishy lips for fish, but she then wants to give us kisses! Other new things since her 1st bday:

She's had MnMs (I didn't give them to her. I was at Bible Study. She stood up in my lap, reached halfway across the table, and crammed one in her mouth faster than I'd realized what had happened! I was freaking out, waiting for her to choke, but then a little smile spread across her face as she discovered the joy that is chocolate. So then she proceeded to eat about a dozen of them, one at at time. She loved them, and it kept her silent!)

She can push her stroller, highchair, and little car (that used to be her walker, but we converted) around the house. Sometimes she'll put her bear or doll in them when she pushes them. It's so cute! And I didn't even show her that! She came up with that on her own!

She can give Eskimo kisses (rub noses). Josh came up with this, and she caught on immediately. Now if she could just learn to pick up toys that fast...

She can run! She can crawl up our stairs really fast and step out the front door without crawling down the step (it's really shallow).

She can follow directions really well like if I tell her to go get a toy or book, follow me, go to the changing table, follow me to the mailbox, get on the bed, go to her highchair, etc! Of course she can be a stinker sometimes and thinks it's hilarious to run the opposite way...

She can also get on and off of her little chairs that go to her little tables!

Ok...that's all I can think of for now...I'm sure there's more!

Getting to know me some more!

42 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 42 things about your friends, and let them learn 42 things about you! Send back to me and to several more friends !!

1. Do you like blue cheese? NO
2. Have you ever smoked? No, I'll pass on the cancer, thanks.
3. Do you own a gun? nope
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? cherry
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? no
6. What do you think of hot dogs? will not eat them. yuck.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? water
9. Can you do push-ups? Yep
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Engagement ring/ Wedding band
11. Favorite hobby? reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? Look! A chicken! What? no.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? too judgemental
14. Middle name? Joy
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? why is facebook msging requiring entering words?, wow, claire's outfit totally doesn't match, i really should be going to the store instead of doing this silly quiz
16. Favorite main dish? Sketti
17. Current worry? none
18. Currently hate right now? weeds/yardwork
19. Favorite place to be? sleeping
20. How did you bring in the New Year? at home
21. Where would you like to go? Greece
22. Name three people who will complete this? Me, Myself, and I
23. Do you own slippers? yes
24. What shirt are you wearing? a nasty orange Halloween shirt.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? sure! get me some for Xmas
26. Can you whistle? yes
27. Favorite color? lilac
28. Red or white wine? whatever is sweeter
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? depends on the mood
30. Favorite girl’s name? Claire
31 Favorite Boy's name? Joshua!
32 What's in your pocket right now? I don' t have pockets right now
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Claire
34. Worst injury you ever had? Childbirth aftermath. You push a baby out of you know where and you tell me it's not going to rip?!?
35. Do you love where you live? most of the time
36. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3
37. Who is your loudest friend? HOLLY!
38. Do you have any pets? HELLZ no...and NEVER again!
39. Does someone have a crush on you? JOSH!
40. Your favorite book(s)? Cavebear series!
41. Favorite Sports Team? what are sports?
42. What song do you want played at your funeral? "Only the Good Die Young!"

Six Flags Great America Theme Park

Saturday morning we decided to head out early and stop in at Six Flags Great America on the other side of Chicago. It was totally on the way, but we totally froze our butts off. Here's the park website: http://www.sixflags.com/greatAmerica/index.aspx It says Chicago, but as you know Chicago kind of spills out into parts of NW Indiana and a little corner of Wisconsin.

Here are my cousins Erich (sunglasses) and Evan getting ready to go on the big drop ride. WHEE!

Here is my brother David dressed for the weather. During the winter I wish I could grow facial hair to keep my face warmer. Now wouldn't that be something. :)

My cousin Krissy holding Claire while waiting for others.

So my dad and I went on the Raging Bull together. We waited nearly 2 hours. It was so not worth it. I WILL NEVER again go to a theme park on a Saturday. Even if it is only 50 degrees out, other people will be there.

Here is my mom walking with Claire. I found an awesome monkey leash at Target. She has a monkey on her back! Who-who-who! She loves her monkey!

My mom and Claire. Claire wasn't too sure of the horse. We actually ended up sitting on the wooden benches for the ride. The horses were ice cold. I dressed Claire really warmly, of course! She had on thick tights, a warm onesie, a one-piece thicker outfit so her tummy wouldn't be exposed, then warm tennis shoes, a hat, mittens, and a thick coat. I wish I would've worn tights! I froze. She always felt toasty, though!

My dad posing with Claire on the carousel that played horrible rap music.

Josh and I. D'oh. My eyes are shut. Oh well. Can't always get a good shot of everyone.

Ok, so here I messed up this picture, too. Bad, MARIA! BAD! I was actually on the phone with my brother David as we were trying to meet up. Going to a theme park with that many people was confusing! My mom asked a cotton candy boy to take our picture. So there he was juggling the cotton candy on one arm and a camera in the other. Then my mom decided to buy one. But then we had forgotten we had paid for one since nobody really wanted it anyway. So then he kept saying pink or blue for like 10 minutes. Ok, maybe not 10 minutes, but several times. I'm surprised he just didn't leave. Nobody probably would've noticed!

So that was our adventure-filled day to the Fright Fest! BOO!

Mary Ann Cahill

My mom and I got a photo with Mary Ann Cahill while in OH 2 weekends ago. She is about the same age as my Grandma.

Blogging in Spurts

So I didn't blog for 4 days. That means I get to fill up your feed-readers now. I didn't check blogs the whole time I was gone, which means I had a ton to look at when I got back! FUN FUN! :) Here is a video of Claire LAST YEAR at this time at only 2 months old. She's soooo tiny!



We go in this week for her 15 month check-up! I can't wait to see how she's grown!

My Night Off

So we went to WI for a wedding this past LONG weekend. More on that later! Last night, not too long after getting back and quickly running Claire to get her flu shot...I went to a "Moms Night Out!" So thereby, I got a night off! YAY!





Josh made some videos to prove his aweseome-ness in being in charge! He even got Claire to eat 1/2 container of food and some pizza! WOW:


He even took a video of her playing in the bath, which I decided not to post for modesty reasons. And here she is all dressed in her jammies, complete with onesie! GO DADDY! She loves to brush her teeth:

The last video I had of her brushing was a white toothbrush with a chunky handle. I got this Snoopy one and find it's much easier to use! I also got some Flossers for kids. It says on the package you should floss your kids teeth until they are 10 before they can do a good job of it. Yikes. Well I guess it's a small price to pay for never having cavities. Oh, and tonight I discovered her 4th molar is coming in. SO that makes for 6 teeth coming in and 4 totally in. THAT IS 10 TEETH! We are half-way to having all our baby teeth!

Josh did a great job. I was very impressed she was not only bathed, but in her jammies, and teeth brushed when I got home! Thank you, Josh! :) Sorry I doubted you ;)